Among the abundance of beautifully flowering houseplants , spathiphyllum is almost the most popular among flower growers . The care and reproduction of this flower is simple, although, like any living organism, it needs care. But if you are not too lazy and give him a little attention, he will thank you with his undemanding and long beautiful flowering.
Plant features
Like the rest of the aroid, spathiphyllum is not deadly, but still poisonous. Calcium oxalate is present in its leaves, therefore, for some allergy sufferers, touching them can cause dermatitis. Do not let the cat, if you have it in your house, chew the plant. The death of the animal is unlikely, but sores on the oral mucous membranes, diarrhea and vomiting are unlikely to please you. On the other hand, spathiphyllum does not release toxic phytoncides into the air, so there is no danger of breathing poison. In this case, it is worth considering its useful properties. The plant perfectly cleans the airspace in the house from harmful components. True, for the effectiveness of this process, six to seven adult plants must live in a room of twenty square meters. However, this is not a problem - the propagation of spathiphyllum is simple, even a beginner grower will cope with it.
Choose a windowsill
This plant is shade tolerant. Moreover, it just prefers dim, diffused lighting. In bright, direct light, the leaves of spathiphyllum fade and begin to dry. So the northern, usually empty window, would be an ideal choice. True, if there will be very little light (for example, just in this place a large branching tree grows), then the foliage becomes densely green, grows smaller and stretches out. Flowering is in question. And the propagation of spathiphyllum will not be successful - new copies simply will not take root. But this plant survives well under artificial lighting. Even fluorescent lights are not required - quite ordinary, apartment. Phytodesigners use this when designing offices and stores. In the summer it would be nice to take the pots out onto the street - onto the balcony or into the garden. But again, it is necessary to choose a shaded place so that the plants do not get burns and do not "feel sad" from the excess of sunlight.
Temperature mode
Spathiphyllum does not need to create special thermal conditions. Normal room temperatures are quite suitable for him. True, if the thermometer shows less than +18, the flower stops growing, and it will not bloom. Higher temperatures are also required during the propagation of spathiphyllum: planted plants need 22-23 degrees for survival. Therefore, they are often covered with cropped plastic bottles with holes, creating a mini-greenhouse.
What you need to carefully protect spathiphyllum from drafts. Even with a fan running nearby, the flower may fall ill and die. When using air conditioning, do not turn on the mode below 20 degrees, and pots with plants need to be moved away from it.
How often to water
Spathiphyllum is a hygrophilous plant. The soil in his "house" must be wet always. No need to wait for the earthen coma to dry completely. However, when overflowing, the probability of root decay is high. Therefore, if one hour after irrigation there is still water in the sump, it must be drained. A sign of excess moisture is the appearance of dark spots on the leaves. Having noticed them, it is necessary to revise the schedule of irrigation. The lack of water is manifested by a sharp drooping of all the leaves. No need to be afraid: literally a couple of hours after receiving moisture, they will straighten again.
It is especially necessary to be careful when watering the seated spathiphyllum - reproduction and transplantation can injure the plant. Therefore, the land spills well before these procedures, and watering resumes only after three to four days.
Humidity is important.
He loves spathiphyllum and spraying - like all plants with a large leaf plate. In the heat, such manipulations are required to be done twice a day - in the morning, before the onset of the sun, and in the evening, when it subsides. If this is not possible (for example, in the office), the pot is placed in a tray with wet moss, pebbles or expanded clay. However, even these measures do not eliminate the need to spray the flower in the summer at least every other day.
Transplantation
Spatiphyllum needs to move to a new place of residence throughout life. Young plants need to be replanted annually, adults who are more than five years old - only when the roots have filled the entire pot. You can determine the moment by the roots that have popped through the drainage holes. A new pot is bought low and only slightly larger than the previous one: in such conditions, spathiphyllum survives faster and blooms more readily. Drainage is a must, and it’s better to choose larger ones. If possible, add sphagnum to the soil - the soil will not dry out too sharply. An ideal substrate would be composed of turf land, sand, peat and leaf land. The ratio is 1: 1: 2: 2. After transplanting, in the evening, the plant is sprayed with epin (two drops per glass of warm water). So he will take root more quickly and painlessly. For the same purpose, watering stops, but spraying is mandatory twice a day until the resumption of watering.
Sheet seating
Sooner or later you will want to grow your plantation of these beautiful plants. First of all, we warn against the mistakes of those who did not grow spathiphyllum before. Reproduction by a leaf is impossible for him. Unlike, for example, begonias, a leaf of spathiphyllum, dipped in water, will simply decay without rooting. The same thing happens if it is immediately thrust into the ground, as is done with many succulents. Florists practice the propagation of spathiphyllum by cuttings or division of the rhizome. Perhaps, of course, the use of seeds, but it is complicated by many factors, which will be discussed below.
Cuttings
Vegetative methods are applicable to almost any plant - some more, others less. Spathiphyllum is no exception. Reproduction by dividing the bush is most popular due to the relative simplicity of the process. At the base of the adult plant, “babies” are formed - a small leafy rosette with stubby roots. In spring, when the time for transplantation comes, they carefully separate from the mother plant. The main thing in this process is to unravel the roots, trying not to cut them off. Cuttings root in wet sand or perlite. Spathiphyllum propagation will occur without trouble if each new bush is covered with a transparent cap, preferably with holes. If they are absent and you cannot do them, you will have to air the plantings two or three times a day. When the root system grows and gets stronger, the planted plants are transferred to a substrate prepared by the method already described.
Rhizome division
You can also plant spathiphyllum in another way. Reproduction by root delenki, on the one hand, gives almost one hundred percent survival. On the other hand, one must be able to do this so as not to ruin the mother plant. So only experienced flower growers resort to it. Such an operation is also performed in the spring, during transplant manipulations, so as not to disturb the plant again. Rhizome is divided by a sharp knife, slices are sprinkled with crushed charcoal. By no means activated! The rest of the actions are the same as with the cuttings.
Chores with seeds
There is another way, very unreliable, to get a new spathiphyllum. Reproduction at home using seed in theory is possible, but is unlikely to succeed. Firstly, to obtain them, artificial pollination is required, which does not always give the planned results. Secondly, the germination rate of the seeds of this flower is very low. Moreover, the seeds are not stagnant: even after a day, half of them are already guaranteed not to sprout. Thirdly, after sowing in sandy peat soil, the container is covered with glass, and your task at the same time is to maintain its moisture content and to prevent the seed from suffocating. Therefore, basically the method remains purely theoretical - gardeners propagate spathiphyllum vegetatively.
Bloom
The main thing that attracts lovers of indoor plants in spathiphyllum is a long, up to two months, flowering. An additional bait is the fact that most varieties produce “ears” quite willingly. However, it happens that, despite the care and proper care, the plant is naughty. There are several ways to push it in the right direction.
- Rearrangement of the pot. Most often, the rejection of flowering is caused by adverse light or thermal conditions. You can try moving the plant to a "brighter" place. At first, to get used to it, you must either shade it or move it to a less lit place. After adaptation, it will be possible to give spathiphyllum more light. Very often, he immediately throws buds.
- Often stimulates flowering increased humidity. Either make spraying more frequent, or turn on the humidifier, or simply place a container of water next to it.
- If such simple actions did not produce a result, transfer the spathiphyllum (temporarily!) To water starvation. First, water it less often than usual for a couple of weeks, and then leave it completely without water for a week. In order not to harm the flower, spray it more often. After keeping the specified time, move the pot closer to the light, return to normal watering mode and feed spathiphyllum with fertilizers for flowering plants. Within a month, it will bloom.
Well, in order for flowering to be longer, it is necessary to cut off faded "ears" in time. Then they will not slow down the development of new ones.
Try bringing spathiphyllum to your window garden. Reproduction (see photo in the article), easy and almost always successful, will allow you to quickly decorate your home with this beautiful plant with glossy leaves and delicate white flowers.